Iran and Oman strike deal on temporary Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor, though full reopening stays off the table

Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on a provisional shipping corridor for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who disclosed the arrangement during a television appearance on Tuesday.

The announcement, however, came with a firm caveat: Tehran maintains that the strategic waterway cannot return to normal operation until Washington honours the terms of an interim peace accord signed in June — an agreement that has already expired.

The strait has been effectively shut to commercial traffic since the outbreak of hostilities between Iran, the United States and Israel, which began when American and Israeli forces struck Tehran on February 28. The closure has thrown global energy markets into turmoil, cutting off the sole maritime passage linking the Gulf to open waters — a channel that in peacetime carries roughly one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas exports from Gulf producers.

In the days after the attacks on Tehran — launched while Iranian and American negotiators were still meeting in Oman — Iran sealed the passage in early March, permitting only vessels it classified as "friendly" to sail through. By April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had published a navigational chart directing permitted traffic along a path hugging the Iranian coastline, while simultaneously declaring a broad swath of Omani territorial waters off-limits.

Washington, which has accused Tehran of seeding the waterway with naval mines — an allegation Iran has never confirmed, though it suggested its prescribed course would reduce the risk of striking them — responded by imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports in and around the strait aimed at choking off fuel shipments. Energy prices spiralled in response, with Brent crude climbing from roughly $66 per barrel before the war to repeated breaches of the $100 mark, including as recently as July 23, after peaking near $120 in March. Shortages rippled across Asia, where economies lean heavily on Gulf energy supplies.

A memorandum of understanding signed by American and Iranian officials on June 17 produced a ceasefire intended to open space for broader negotiations lasting up to two months. Under its terms, Iran committed to keeping the strait accessible to all traffic without charge. But ambiguous drafting left the two sides at odds over which courses ships should follow, splitting the waterway into rival passages: a southern lane endorsed by Oman and protected by the US Navy, which commercial operators have favoured, and a northern one sanctioned by Iran.

Efforts toward a comprehensive settlement have since lost momentum, and transit remains perilous. On Tuesday, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations reported that an oil tanker was knocked out of commission by a projectile of unknown origin near Ash Shishah on Oman's coast, close to the strait's entrance.

Under the newly announced corridor, the entry point would sit within Iranian territorial waters, and part of the exit path would likewise pass through them, Gharibabadi said. The lane itself will measure seven miles, or about 11.3 kilometres, across.

An IRGC spokesman offered additional context, saying negotiations with Muscat opened roughly a month ago and produced terms both governments accepted. He said the two countries had settled questions over their respective shares of the strait's waters and how its revenues would be divided between them.

Substantial details remain unresolved, however. Neither side has published exact coordinates for the corridor, and it is not yet known when vessels might begin using it safely or precisely how revenue collection would work. Operational questions — including whether particular ship types or national flags might be excluded — are likewise unanswered.

Gharibabadi was emphatic that the pact amounts to nothing more than a temporary arrangement and does not constitute a reopening of the strait. Separately, Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia indicated that vessels making the crossing would remain under Iranian monitoring. Tehran has refused direct negotiations with Washington since American strikes resumed against parts of Iran in July amid renewed disputes over the passage, insisting instead that all matters concerning the waterway — which borders both nations' territories — be handled exclusively through Oman. --- END ---